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4G World & SUPERCOMM
Coming Soon
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| Chicago, Alliance's hometown, will host two trade shows this fall. 4G World, formerly WiMAX world offers a look at next generation business models and technologies while SUPERCOMM, formerly NXTcomm focuses on broadband communications. Register today and let us know if you're coming.
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Industry Insight: IPTV taking off |
IPTV reached 27m subscribers this summer with rapid growth in some regions. As the technologies take off, analysts are broadening the definition and exploring what IPTV means to cable operators, FiOS TV, and non-incumbant telcos. And telecom carriers in the US are beginning to overcome barriers to using WiFi to deliver IPTV.
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Need a Laugh?
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"Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity." Check out more humorous business quotes.
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Free Webinars |
Our growing library of recorded webinars is now posted on our web site. Download one today, and plan to join our next live event!
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Please contact us any time with questions, feedback, or just to exchange ideas about telecom industry issues. You can reach us at 847-782-1500 or info@atswireless.com. For the latest information, visit us at www.atswireless.com.
Sincerely,
Dick McFarlane
Alliance Telecom Solutions |
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Message from Dick McFarlane, President
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My letter this month is aimed primarily at our Chicago readers. Alliance serves clients throughout North and South America. With this multi-city exposure we have noticed a disparity in telecom-specific professional associations.
There are telecom-specific groups in Linkedin, and I think those are good ways to connect. We have seen active local groups in Atlanta and Denver that meet regularly for professional and industry education. We have been surprised to find that no such organization exists in Chicago.
We believe the Chicago market would benefit from an organization that provides personal education for telecom professionals. We envision sessions for personal development (how to manage and motivate a difficult employee) as well as industry knowledge such as the progress toward LTE in the mobile market or IPTV challenges.
Alliance is willing to provide some organizational support (coordination, publication of this idea) but we need people who feel this could be worthwhile to indicate enough interest to set up an organizational meeting. We do not see this as an Alliance tool, but we see it helping people in our markets to gain both knowledge and personal contacts.
If you have interest in being part of leading an effort, or just attending an organizational meeting to provide some input, please email Jean Lawrence, our Director of Marketing, who is providing support to see if there is interest in this concept. And if you are not located in Chicago but have colleagues who are, please let them know so they can get on board.
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Meet Our Staff: Cristian Radu
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Featured Consultant: Cristian Radu, Project Director
Cristian has 17 years of telecom experience, specializing in wireless customer care and billing systems.
TT: How did you get into telecom?
CR: I entered the workforce after college during a tough economic period. I actually got started in telecom by working as a temporary employee at LA Cellular (AT&T) and was fortunate enough to have an amazing boss and mentor that hired me full time and constantly challenged me to expand my skills. I started off as a Revenue Assurance Analyst which gave me a great overview of all of the network, business and operational systems utilized by a wireless telecom operator...how they are integrated, how they operate, and also how and where they can fail. Since then, I've worked strictly in telecom for the past 17 years for various for start-ups, carriers, billing system vendors and system integrators throughout the U.S., Latin America and Europe, and would not trade my fast paced, dynamic and challenging career choice for any other.
TT: What is your subject matter expertise?
CR: My specialty is the implementation, migration and conversion of billing and customer care systems for wireless telecom operators...exactly what most little kids dream of doing when they grow up. But if you ask my parents, they'll tell you, "oh...he works with computers." I developed my expertise working on a variety of BSS/OSS projects; with a variety of wireless carriers and a variety of billing system vendors such as Amdocs, LHS, Convergys, Intec and ADC. It's been a great learning experience, and even if you implement the same billing system for two different customers, it is never exactly the same.
TT: What do you feel is the biggest contribution you've made to a client?
CR: I never know exactly when it will happen, or exactly what it will be, but I always seem to leave each client with a least one "WOW" moment...something that you can tell by the expression on their faces that has changed the way they think or the way they will do business in the future.
TT: What is one of the most interesting projects you've worked on?
CR: One of my favorite projects was working on a billing system implementation for Yahoo! Here was an internet giant looking to implement a telecom billing system. Not only was the project interesting in order to adapt the internet product offerings to a telecom billing system, but also the people and culture on the Yahoo! Campus. Flip flops, t-shirts, face piercings were common, but beyond that were some of the most amazing minds I've ever worked with.
TT: What is your favorite city/country to work in?
CR: This is actually very tough to choose. The long summer days in Seattle are fantastic. The nightlife in Las Vegas is exhilarating. The natural landscape of Rio de Janeiro is stunning. It is rare when this happens, but after racking up over 4 million airline miles in the past 10 years, I would have to say my favorite city to work in is...home in Miami Beach.
TT: What do you like best about working with Alliance?
CR: I have worked with several consulting companies in the past and what stands out to me about Alliance is the support and professionalism of the staff.
TT: What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
CR: I just looked up "free time" on Wikipedia...I wasn't quite sure what that meant. When I'm not working as a IT/Telecom Consultant, I manage my own real estate development projects from Miami to Seattle to Southern California. Maine is next in order to cover the four corners! Outside of work, my passions are photography, tennis and cycling. I'm also into rollerblading, squash, scuba diving, volleyball because you never know when you're going to have some...what did you call it? "free time"?
To request Cristian for your next project or to view his full profile, visit our web site.
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