iOS7 implementation of Multi-path TCP promises seamless mobility and perhaps more

Here is a really fascinating article and I picked up today on the implementation of Multipath TCP in the new Apple iOS 7.

What on Earth is Multipath TCP? Put simply it's the future of a smarter Internet. Yes, if you can believe it the Internet is about to get just that bit cleverer and being an old TCP/IP hack I think this is the most exciting thing in the protocols development since Path MTU discovery :-)

So what's the big news?   It means that you will be able to switch a stream of data on your phone. mobile device or wearable tech' and switch the data stream seamlessly from 4G to 3G to the wireless in your office and back again without losing the connection. so, you could be talking on your phone on 3G walk in to your office and have the call switch seamlessly to the nearest wireless hub same thing for video streams, location-based services or anything else that will stream over the Internet.

While for many this may all seem rather 'low level'  Multipath TCP  play a large part in the future  development of the Internet heralding a whole new era of 'smart' Internet and I foresee that it will have a massive impact on the structure, function & performance of the global infrastructure including in  delivering seamless load balancing.

Further BT Job Cuts 15,000, this year and more in 2010

Things continue to look gloomy for BT. This mornings announcement seems to have been a bigger surprise than had been expected.

BT suffered a 40% slump in pre-tax profit during the fourth quarter, forcing the firm to slash its dividend and announce plans to axe another 15,000 jobs. Fourth quarter pre-tax profit plunged to £429m from £714m a year ago and by 21% for the full year to £2.08bn.

The firm also reminded us that it had cut 15,000 posts in the last 12 months, 5,000 more than they said they would. This morning they joined Banks & Miners amongst the FTSE's largest fallers.

BT's stated aim is to cut the jobs through natural wastage, non replacement and voluntary redundancy and had no plans for compulsory lay-offs. With some suggestion that it'll be even more agency staff going.

Next Generation Communications platforms, Ethernet-based solutions, unified communications applications, and International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) are key are to BTs ability to compete at home and abroad. BT cannot afford to fall behind the innovation curve

It seems to me that the right thing to do no matter how painful is to follow C&Ws lead - look at the skills they absolutely must have in their company and organise their people accordingly.

Cisco the latest to announce Dis-employments

The reduction in the build out of new networking infrastructure has led the worlds leading provider of telecommunications hardware,Cisco, to sort of announce a round of redundancies. Around 2,000 staff are to be "restructured out of employment" from the global workforce of about 70,000.

A great company, but perhaps as Scott Adams observes, one that could afford to thin the ranks just a little.

AT&T Cut even more staff

After cutting 7,000 staff in October, Randall Stephenson CEO of AT&T (pictured) announced that another 12,000 are to go in 2009. The cuts represent 4% of the total workforce and is the largest single staff cut since the 1998 when it axed 15,000 in a bid to cut costs.

What is interesting is the difference in the cuts as a percentage of the overall headcount. In '98 AT&T had 130,000 staff and the redundancies in that round made up 12% of headcount. With the US economic situation far worse AT&T's current headcount at over 300,000 is likely to carry on shrinking.

Let's hope they don;t make the same mistake as BT did, and allow their top IP engineers to take the very generous redundancy option; leaving Global Services short handed and costing the CEO is job.

BT to shed 10,000 jobs

Less than 24 hrs after Virgin Media announced they would be shedding a 2000+ jobs. BT have announced further 10,000 job cuts with contractors out the door first.

I say further because anyone who follows BT will be aware that they have already reduced their global workforce by 1/3rd, down from nearly 250,000 in 2006. In October 2007 a representative of the Now Connect Union, which represents BT middle management, suggested that only the generosity of the voluntary redundancy packages avoided a strike. Unfortunately the result of that generousity is that some highly experienced engineers and network designers took the deal and left BT Global Services, the division now pulling BTs numbers down.

A BT insider recently said to me "...it's like 2001 again, lots of people in the office looking busy; waiting for the storm to hit!"