DMR: Isn’t that like playing the lottery, betting on the big exit?

Brian: Oh, no. I don’t think so. As a percentage of dollars into that space, actually it’s a lot lower. Most people have avoided that sector for at least the last half a decade. The capital requirements are high enough to where only the really best companies in that segment end up getting financed. So it’s still venture capital. There’s still risk. Certainly companies die. But I don’t think it’s playing the lottery. I actually think web 2.0 is playing the lottery, which is why we don’t invest there.                           

DMR: So in 15 years we would have an interview again. What would we talk about in 15 years from now?

Brian: People talk about the Internet as the platform for every kind of communication, entertainment. I think that’ll be more and more real over time. We’re going to turn in the age where more and more of your data is stored in the Cloud, the server somewhere in the network, and accessible anywhere.

I’m a big believer in virtual reality and three dimensional projection, holographic displays. We’ll see that, in terms of video. Which, to me, as an operator, I’m a little bit happy and a little bit scared.  Because that will consume a lot of bandwidth. And today I’m not getting paid anymore for the incremental bandwidth.

DMR: There are two large carriers here in the U.S. who right now have 3D trials. So we see all this stuff happening.

Brian: Another good example of, which I think is probably less than 15 years away – maybe five – is personalized TV. I mean, I’m ashamed of the industry of what they’ve done with IPTV today. It’s a joke. It’s just linear TV with a bunch of bundles on the back end. The whole advantage that carrier has over a cable operator, for example, is an ability to offer individualized, personalized TV channels. I don’t know why we’re not there today.                                

I want to pick and choose what I want just like when I boot up a windows machine and it gives you your profile. My desktop is completely different than my wife’s at home. Why can’t I have that exact experience on a TV screen? I don’t know why. But the operators could be doing that. I don’t know why they’re not doing it.