Americans get less vacation per year than European workers and still don't use it all--we forfeit an average of eight vacation days a year, if surveys are to be believed.

In the telecom industry, August still feels a little like the lull before the storm, with major trade shows looming in just a few weeks. But thanks to regulatory reform, the sudden interest in the municipal broadband issue and a steady stream of vendor announcements, this once sleepy month has more personality than usual.

There are still signs of a certain economic insecurity to be found. Service providers of all sizes are announcing deals with customers of all sizes--something once reserved for insecure and inadequately funded CLECs. Likewise, vendors are quick to tout the smallest success. One major software company last week announced a major customer win in China, but declined to name the customer.

The indications are that many within telecom are still uncertain as to what the market will bring going forward, particularly while major issues loom in Washington that could gravely impact the entire segment.

I believe it's a positive sign, however, that you can once again pick up the business section of any major paper and find telecom news there that isn't of the bankruptcy kind. There has been a major burst of activity in writing about municipal broadband networks--something most Americans hadn't heard of a year ago--and while the coverage and the opinions are somewhat all over the map, the attention itself is a positive sign. Every article points up the need for better broadband penetration in the U.S. and that is a message that cannot be stated too forcefully.

Telecom has become an essential part of corporate life and an ever more important part of life in general and that remains the good news--whether you got your vacation time in this summer or not.

Contact me at cwilson3@primediabusiness.com.