HOW TO RECEIVE A BROADCAST TV STATION IF IT IS DROPPED FROM YOUR PAY TV SERVICE.

Cable operators and other pay TV service providers, such as satellite operators, carry local television broadcast stations based on contracts with the stations. When these contracts end, the parties generally extend or renew these contracts. The process by which the contracts are negotiated is known as “retransmission consent.” In almost all cases, agreement is reached and stations continue to be carried without interruption. On some occasions, the pay TV service provider and the station fail to reach an agreement, and the pay TV service provider is required by law to stop carrying that station until an agreement is reached. These are private agreements, though federal law requires the parties to negotiate with each other in good faith.

What can I do if a local broadcast television station is no longer available on my pay TV service?(Click here) for the answer to this important question from the FCC.

Happy Holidays

Smart Phone vs. Black Berry for Small Business

There used to be a time when the Blackberry was the phone of choice for corporations. In fact, Blackberry has 43% of the “corporate” market share. Recently, new Smartphones are gaining market share in the small to medium business arena. New business applications make the smart phone a cool alternative.

According to CNET, the best five smart phones fall into two categories: Android and iPhones. The top five smart phones are the Samsung EPIC 4 (SPRINT), Apple iPhone 4 (AT&T), Motorola Droid (Verizon), T-Mobile G2, and Samsung S (click here for article)

Android has over 80,000 apps and according to Small Business News, the top Android app that small businesses should be paying attention to is Layar. (Click here for the full listing)

iPhone boasts over 300,000 apps and according to American Express Open Forum, the top business app is Quick Office Mobile Office Suite. (Click here for full list)

Blackberry released a new Smartphone called the Blackberry Torch. Its touch screen features give a wink and nod to both iPhone and Android users. Although the Blackberry does not have as many apps as the Android and iPhone, it does possess a good catalog of apps appealing not only to the business world, but also for personal fun. It is also plans to compete with the iPad with its new tablet called, “Blackberry Playbook”

Do you think that smart phones can compete with the blackberry in the small business marketplace?

Keep Achieving,
NaShawn

How to Hire a Management Consultant

NaShawn Branch: telecommunications Management Consultant Brochure

Telecommunications Financing Options for Small Business Telecom Companies

Author: Andrew Stratton

If your small business were a grocery store or automotive mechanic shop, most every lender in the U.S. would immediately understand your business model. If you were to approach them looking for a line of credit, they would be able to rather quickly determine if your business is able to receive some small business financing from them or not. However, as the owner of a telecommunications company you know that this is not always the case for your industry. Traditional lenders just simply do not understand how telecom companies do business and the intracacies of telecommunications funding.

If you are a large multi-national telecom company, funding abounds for you just simply because of the huge amount of revenue your business generates month after month. However, if you are a small telecom business, obtaining that line of credit can be much more difficult. When you approach a traditional lender for funding, you will likely find that they do not understand your business model and telecommunications financing in general. It is not in the traditional banker's interest to work with telecommunications businesses with receivables that are all small amounts with many customers. Generally, your receivables take 45 or more days to receive after delivery of services. Because these billing issues are unique to the telecom industry, traditional lenders do not fully comprehend the fine details and tend to choose to deal with businesses in more traditional roles.

Once your small telecommunications business is on solid ground, and you are looking to expand your market base, there are three options readily availablec to you for obtaining small business financing. These three options are: factoring, asset based solutions, and investment capital. Let's take a quick look at each of these options:

Factoring: Factoring is a financing process which allows your company to borrow money against its receivables; your receivables are used as the collateral for the loan. The down side to traditional factoring is that this type of funding generally comes with high interest rates. By finding a lender with telecommunications financing experience, you can sometimes find a lower rate. This makes factoring a strong consideration only if you are able to locate a specialized lender with telecommunications financing experience.

Asset Based Solutions: Asset based funding solutions involve using your existing contracts, equipment, and other assets, as the collateral for your funding. This can be a good option to consider if you have a lot of assets or large contracts to leverage. However, if you own a very small local telecom company, your company may not have the assets or contracts to make this form of funding work. In that case, investment capital may be a good option to consider.

Investment Capital: If your business is open to the idea of investment capital, versus a traditional line of credit, investment capital can be a win-win situation for everyone.

While finding small business financing can be challenging in the telecommunications industry, it is not impossible. When it is time for your small telecom company to expand you should consider factoring, asset based solutions, and investment capital as possible options. Whatever your decision may be, as long as it fits within your long-term business plans, then you are sure to succeed.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/telecommunications-financing-options-for-small-business-telecom-companies-178962.html

About the AuthorThermo Credit, LLC is a financial services company focused exclusively on telecommunications financing. Our objective is to serve established companies that need capital to expand their operations. Learn more about Thermo Credit at http://www.thermocredit.com.

Kung fu fighting in telecommunications industry

"Everyone was Kung Fu fighting,
Those cats were fast lightning.
It was a little bit frightening,
You have to have perfect timing."

These are the lyrics to this famous song of the 70's but the same is true today. For example, Business owners of telecommunications businesses, may be singing the same tune. Small-to medium business in the telecommunications industry only have a small window to beat the competition because technology is changing rapidly. Therefor it is imperative that business owners have a higher level of performing business analysis.

Evaluating marketing plans, potential markets, and customer buying habits require a higher level approach. Many management consultants only perform return on investments (ROI) formulas. However, a higher level of statistics is required for a higher level of confidence. Does your consultant possess these skills? These are some of the questions that you need to ask before you hire a management consultant.

If you have questions about performing a statistical analysis for your small-to- medium telecommunications business, I will be happy to provide a FREE consultation and demonstrate how a statistical analysis can benefit your business.

NaShawn

Telecommunications Humor

What is a Telecommunications Management Consultant?

To answer this question, we must first define what a management consultants does. A management consultant works to define ineffectiveness with in an organization. Therefor, a Telecommunications Management Consultant usually works in the arena of telecommunications industry. There are two separate focuses 1) working to reduce telecommunications expenses for companies (usually not telecommunications businesses) and 2) working with managers at telecommunications organizations to improve their business operations.

So what do I do? I work with telecommunications organizations to improve their performance, primarily through the analysis of existing business problems and development of plans for improvement.

Telecommunications Consultants (TC) vs. Telecommunications Management Consultants (TMC)

What’s the difference? This is a question that was recently posed to me for further clarity. It is a legitimate question that I thought I would clarify on my blog. To sum it up briefly, the difference is rooted in the services and the clients it services.
Telecommunications Consultants (TC) are providers of voice, video, and data solutions for the end user. Their classification or NAIC code is 517 and classifies as a telecommunications service provider.
While Telecommunications Management Consultant (TMC) providers classify in NAIC code 54168 of management consultation services or specifically “other Management consulting services. Most of their clients are businesses that require an expert opinion of improving internal operations. Telecommunications management consultants have no partnership with providers insuring an unbiased opinion.
In short, TCs are routing in the practice of engineering while TMCs are in Management.
I hope this clears things up.
Keep Achieving
NaShawn