P. J. Louis

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P. J. Louis is an American (of Chinese descent) telecommunications technologist and author. He is a noted telecommunications industry expert and has authored eleven (11) books on various telecom technology and industry topics. During the early 2000s telecom/Internet economic meltdown, he served as an industry advisor to several telecommunications corporate restructurings. Based on his public comments, he is a strong supporter of rural broadband telecommunications. [8]

Contents

[edit] Career

In 1983, he was New York Telephone Company’s lead technology expert for the implementation of Equal Access. The Equal Access effort was part of the US Court ordered mandate that resulted in the divestiture of AT&T. Known as the Modification of the Final Judgment. The Modification of the Final Judgment (MFJ) is the 1982 Federal antitrust settlement agreement (also known as the Consent Decree) entered into by the United States Department of Justice and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) that, after modification and upon approval of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, it required the divestiture of the Bell Operating Companies (BOC) from AT&T. The result was seven Regional Bell Operating Companies – NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Pacific Telesis, Ameritech, Southwestern Bell Telephone, US West, and BellSouth.[2]

In 1990, Louis made a transition to Bellcore (now Telcordia Technologies). In the early 1990s, Louis was elected to several standards committee chairmanships within the TIA. Louis did not represent any wireless carrier but rather he represented Bell Communications Research (eventually, Bellcore, now Telcordia Technologies). Bellcore was the wholly owned laboratory of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies. Bellcore’s interest was to ensure that wireless network signaling and interconnection evolved in a technical way consistent with wireline standards.[3]

In the late 1990s. Louis joined NextWave Wireless. NextWave was one of the "C" License bidders of the 1994 PCS Spectrum Auctions. NextWave was one of the largest winners of the 'C' Block auctions. Louis was Director of Technlogy for the company. After NextWave filed for bankruptcy, Louis left the company. [4]

He re-emerged in 1997 in a company called TruePosition. Louis appeared at several Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) (now known as the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) forums on the topic of wireless location technology. [5]

In 2001, Louis became a practice leader within PricewaterhouseCoopers. Louis effectively disappeared from the telecommunications industry as an operator and telecom professional. However, he became a restructuring expert in the area of telecommunications and technology. While at PricewaterhouseCoopers, he appeared on CNN Business Unusual and CNN Morning Business (2001) where he opined on the state of the telecom industry. He also appeared on one segment with Afshin Mohebi, formerly, of Qwest. [6]

In 2002, Louis wrote a book on broadband, Broadband Crash Course, and openly supported the use of PON in the wireline network. He noted that it was the most cost effective and technically efficient way of getting more bandwidth to the home. Louis was right; the Verizon FiOS network is a PON. [1]

In 2005, Louis became the CFO or Fun Little Movies (FLM). FLM was one of the first mobile media providers to the wireless industry. Louis become an advisor to LF Productions and Titan Motion Pictures Group; two filmmaking studios in Hollywood.[7] Louis’ role in FLM was remarkable given he had no experience in the movie business. However, Louis was able to help launch this company successfully.

In October 2006 P.J. Louis spoke about the rural broadband marketplace at a Columbia University Symposium on Rural Broadband. His position on the rural market was supportive. Louis noted that the rural market could not be compared to the urban market because the two were vastly different. He noted that investments in telecom and infocom needed a time horizon beyond the typical an 18-month return on investment. He noted that telecom and infocom were not typical speculative investments but were infrastructure-related products and services that could be characterized by rapid technological change. He noted that by keeping in mind the element of infrastructure, like the rural market, could be viewed as potential lucrative investments. He even openly advocated Broadband over Power Line Communications (BPL) in the rural market. He was challenged by the audience over his BPL views. Some audience members stated there was no business case to support rural broadband. Louis' comments were clearly supportive of the rural market; he commented that the telecommunications industry is not truly a speculative industry but one that has the attributes of an infrastructure business; hence it ought to be viewed as an infrastructure investment.[8]

Louis recently emerged as an advisor to MixCast TV, an urban content provider for the IPTV market. There is no information as to what his role is in this company.[9] The company appears to have been originally called OOH! TV. An article from TMC lists a PJ Louis as a principal in OOH! TV. [10]

P.J. Louis was recently working in private equity. He was a Managing Partner for Avondale Ventures. The company appears have closed its doors due to the recession. The company was focused on small and medium sized telecom and media companies. The company was a minority owned business and its value was in the area of operational expertise as well as financial expertise. [11]

Louis’ books, articles, and public comments seem to be contrarian to the popular investment analyst view. Louis seems to believe that telecom and infocom possess a social responsibility element. Louis seems to take positions that are counter to popular trends. He has recently been publishing opinion pieces through his publisher Mind Commerce. Based on pieces he has written, he has opinions about Google, YouTube, and digital rights management. [12] His opinions about the telecommunications industry and media industry have started appearing on a website called Gerson Lehrman Group. [13] He is respected by his peers as a no-nonsense professional.

[edit] Bibliography:

  • Telecommunications Internetworking: Delivering Services Across The Networks. McGraw-Hill, 2000
  • M-Commerce Crash Course. McGraw-Hill, February 2001
  • Broadband Crash Course. McGraw-Hill, September 2001
  • Telecom Management Crash Course. McGraw-Hill, June 2002
  • The Financial Handbook for Technologists. Mind Commerce, September 2004
  • The Handbook of Network Management. Mind Commerce, February 2005
  • The Definitive Wireless E911 Reference Guide 2005. Mind Commerce, August 2005
  • Engineering Economics for Telecom & Media Technologists. Mind Commerce, September 2006
  • Telecommunications Network Management 101. Mind Commerce, November 2006
  • The Definitive Guide to Broadband Wireless. Mind Commerce, March 2007
  • The Definitive Guide to Broadband Wireless - 2008, Mind Commerce, February 2008

[edit] References:

[1] Broadband Crash Course: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0071380604/qid=1122430256/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2824168-3458456?v=glance&s=books

[1] Telecom Management Crash Course: http://mhprofessional.com/contributor.php?cat=112&id=26229

[1] Telecom Internetworking: http://nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Industry_Areas&template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&ProductID=782

[1] M- Commerce Crash Course: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0071369945/qid=1122430219/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-2824168-3458456?v=glance&s=books

[1] The Telecom Network Management Pocket Reference Guide; http://www.mindcommerce.com/Publications/Telecom_Network_Management_Guide.php

[1] Telecom and IT Financial Handbook: http://www.mindcommerce.com/Publications/Financial_Handbook.php

[1] The Definitive Wireless E 9-1-1 Reference Guide - 2005; http://www.mindcommerce.com/Publications/E911_Definitive_Guide2005.php

[1] Engineering Economics for Telecom & Media Technologists; http://www.mindcommerce.com/Publications/EngEconomy_TelecomMedia.php

[1] The Definitive Guide - Broadband Wireless Industry- WiMax, WiFi, and 4G Cellular; http://www.mindcommerce.com/Publications/Definitive_Guide_BroadbandWireless.php

[1] The Deefinitive Guide to Broadband Wireless - 2008; http://www.mindcommerce.com/Publications/DefinitiveGuideBroadbandWireless2008.php

[2] AT&T Divestiture - http://www.utilityregulation.com/content/essays/t9.pdf

[3] Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) meeting reports of 1990 through 1996 - public information

[4] NextWave - http://doi.contentdirections.com/mr/mgh_biblio.jsp?doi=10.1036/0071356541

[5] TruePosition - www.3gcn.org/.../TSG-S_2000-06/Plenary/2E%20Location%20Decisions%202000%20Flyer%20(Version%203.0)%20(1).doc

[5] CTIA and TruePosiiton - http://ctia.mobi/media/press/body.cfm/prid/302

[6] CNN Interviews - June 2001 - CNN Business Unusual

[edit] External Links:

[7] Titan Motion Pictures - http://www.chooseyourfamily.com/family_main.html

[9] MixCast TV - http://www.mixcast.tv/

[10] OOH! TV - http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/sep/1179331.htm

[11] Avondale Ventures - http://www.avondaleventures.com/pb/wp_ed6461d7/wp_ed6461d7.html?0.7046325519711231 [12] Mind Commerce - http://www.mindcommerce.com/ [12] Mind Commerce - http://www.mobilein.com/Perspectives/Google_Yellow_Smackdown.htm [12] Mind Commerce - http://www.mobilein.com/Perspectives/YouTube_InVideo_Traction.htm [12] Mind Commerce - http://www.mobilein.com/DRM1.htm [13] Gerson Lerhman - http://www.glgroup.com/Search/Results.aspx?keyword=P.J.+Louis&x=48&y=14

[edit] Columbia University:

[8]Columbia University Telecom Conference on Rural Broadband; October 2006 (Columbia University School of Business) http://www.nrtc.coop/us/main/nrtc_update_rss/Nov06/NRSS110206.html, http://www.citi.columbia.edu/events/ruralbb2006.shtml

[edit] Federal Communications Commission - NRIC:

http://www.nric.org/pubs/nric3/reportj9.pdf