Instruction: Please read the Chapter Reading (Chapter 6), and answer these questions below: Please write the answer for least 2 pages with Times New Roman and Double Spaced. Questions: 1. What are the implications of having fiber-optic cable to everyone’s home? 2. Network neutrality is an operating model under which Internet service providers (ISPs) must allow customers equal access to content and applications, regardless of the source or nature of the content. That is, Internet backbone carriers must treat all web traffic equally, not charging different rates by user, content, site, platform, or application. Telecommunications and cable companies want to replace network neutrality with an arrangement in which they can charge differentiated prices based on the amount of bandwidth consumed by the content that is being delivered over the Internet. ISPs further contend that net neutrality hinders U.S. international competitiveness by decreasing innovation and discouraging capital investments in new network technologies. Without such investments and innovations, ISPs will be unable to handle the exploding demand for Internet and wireless data transmission. From the opposite perspective, proponents of network neutrality argue that the risk of censorship increases when network providers can selectively block or slow access to certain content, such as access to competing low-cost services such as Skype and Vonage. They also assert that a neutral Internet encourages innovation. Finally, they contend that the neutral Internet has helped to create many new businesses. a. How do you feel about the net neutrality issue? b. Do you believe heavier bandwidth users should pay for more bandwidth? c. Do you believe wireless carriers should operate under different rules from wireline carriers? d. Evaluate your own bandwidth usage. (For example: Do you upload and download large files such as movies?) If network neutrality were to be eliminated, what would the impact be for you? 3. Should businesses monitor network usage? Do you see a problem with employees using company-purchased bandwidth for personal use? Please explain your answer. Cirque du Soleil Situational Analysis          Cirque du Soleil has set the standard when it comes to massive theatrical productions encompassing acrobatics, aquatics, fire, and much more. “The mission of Cirque du Soleil is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world” (Cirque du Soleil Inc., n.d.). From humble beginnings starting in the early 1980’s, as a small group of street performers, to now becoming one of the most well-known brands in theatrical production, the team at Cirque du Soleil strives everyday to turn the company's mission statement into reality. As far as the Las Vegas market is concerned, Cirque du Soleil has a monopoly on theatrical productions throughout the city. The company has fostered a strategic partnership with MGM Resorts Inc., positioning themselves he ...

1. Instruction:
Please read the Chapter Reading (Chapter 6), and answer these
questions below:
Please write the answer for least 2 pages with Times New
Roman and Double Spaced.
Questions:
1. What are the implications of having fiber-optic cable to
everyone’s home?
2. Network neutrality is an operating model under which
Internet service providers (ISPs) must allow customers equal
access to content and applications, regardless of the source or
nature of the content. That is, Internet backbone carriers must
treat all web traffic equally, not charging different rates by
user, content, site, platform, or application.
Telecommunications and cable companies want to replace
network neutrality with an arrangement in which they can
charge differentiated prices based on the amount of bandwidth
consumed by the content that is being delivered over the
Internet. ISPs further contend that net neutrality hinders U.S.
international competitiveness by decreasing innovation and
discouraging capital investments in new network technologies.
Without such investments and innovations, ISPs will be unable
to handle the exploding demand for Internet and wireless data
transmission.
From the opposite perspective, proponents of network neutrality
argue that the risk of censorship increases when network
providers can selectively block or slow access to certain
content, such as access to competing low-cost services such as
Skype and Vonage. They also assert that a neutral Internet
encourages innovation. Finally, they contend that the neutral
Internet has helped to create many new businesses.
a. How do you feel about the net neutrality issue?
b. Do you believe heavier bandwidth users should pay for more
bandwidth?

2. c. Do you believe wireless carriers should operate under
different rules from wireline carriers?
d. Evaluate your own bandwidth usage. (For example: Do you
upload and download large files such as movies?) If network
neutrality were to be eliminated, what would the impact be for
you?
3. Should businesses monitor network usage? Do you see a
problem with employees using company-purchased bandwidth
for personal use? Please explain your answer.
Cirque du Soleil Situational Analysis
Cirque du Soleil has set the standard when it comes to
massive theatrical productions encompassing acrobatics,
aquatics, fire, and much more. “The mission of Cirque du Soleil
is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the
emotions of people around the world” (Cirque du Soleil Inc.,
n.d.). From humble beginnings starting in the early 1980’s, as a
small group of street performers, to now becoming one of the
most well-known brands in theatrical production, the team at
Cirque du Soleil strives everyday to turn the company's mission
statement into reality. As far as the Las Vegas market is
concerned, Cirque du Soleil has a monopoly on theatrical
productions throughout the city. The company has fostered a
strategic partnership with MGM Resorts Inc., positioning
themselves head and shoulders above the other competition in
the industry. This partnership with MGM has allowed them to
expand from their 1 original Las Vegas show, Mystere, to now
having 7 different permanent shows that play throughout the
strip (Cirque du Soleil Inc., n.d.). The brand has also vaulted
onto the world stage with shows and tours taking place on
multiple different continents throughout the world. The current
targeting market that Cirque du Soleil is focused on are
theatergoers between the ages of 40-60 (J.Guilford, personal
communication, September 28, 2019). Looking to the future
however, the company hopes to expand its target market to
include a wider variety of age groups and demographics.

3. Strengths
Brand recognition is one of the defining strengths of the
company. You would be hard pressed to find somebody,
anywhere in the world that has not at least heard of Cirque du
Soleil. This brand recognition allows for greater freedom in
multiple areas of the business, but also creates other strengths
as well. A strength that is a by-product of the brands
recognition is the talent pool that the company can lean on for
employment. According to Guilford (2019), they are able to
recruit acrobats because people want to work there (personal
communication). Cirque du Soleil’s current roster of 1300
artists and performers hail from 55 different countries around
the world (Cirque du Soleil Inc., n.d.). Being able to pull some
of the best talent from all across the world will continually
breathe new life and energy into the company, and allow the
audience to receive the best performance possible. Creativity is
also a major strength for Cirque du Soleil. Per the company’s
mission statement, invoking the imagination is a core principle
that the company is founded on. Creativity in the workplace
allows for more freedom of expression for all the employees,
and keeping your employees happy will result in higher
productivity, and the more engaging and grass roots the creative
process is, the better the final production will be.
Weaknesses
Cirque du Soleil does fall victim to problems that plague other
theatrical shows. One of these weaknesses is the replay value of
the performances themselves. While each show is unique in
regards to the specific details of the performance, they are all
very similar. You expect to see crazy acrobatics, and eye-
popping effects with each show, and after you’ve seen the show
one time, you know that you will get the same experience from
all the other shows. Another weakness is the lack of marketing
towards children and families. Las Vegas as a market is slowly
moving away from catering towards high-end gamblers, and is
more focused on diversifying the revenue streams of each
casino. Cirque has not yet followed suit with their marketing

4. and still target older guests. The pacing of the shows is another
weakness for the company. People expect a cirque show to keep
them on the edge of their seats throughout, but many complaints
that consumers level against the company is how long their
shows last. Many reviews can be found stating how boring the
shows get with people literally falling asleep due to the length
of the performance. You can’t market a show as being an
unforgettable experience when attendees are falling asleep in
their seats. A final weakness for cirque is how unadaptable their
sets are to change. With creativity and imagination being a
strength for the company, and a major factor in their marketing
campaigns, it is hard to bring that to fruition when the
complexity of the stage and setting make it impossible for the
show to adapt to new ideas.
Opportunities
There are many trends that present lucrative opportunities for
Cirque du Soleil to take advantage of. One such trend is the
increase in leisure travel spending throughout the world. In
2017, approximately 60% of business trips were extended to
leisure trips both in the US and globally, an increase of 40%
since 2016. (Trends in Global, 2019, p. 6). This shows that
more people are willing to extend their business trips if there is
something worth staying for. Cirque du Soleil could also offer
earlier time slots for travelers, giving them an option to watch a
show during the day and not just limiting people to night
shows. A final opportunity is to take advantage of and cater
towards a growing population of millennial travelers. Nearly
70% of millennial travelers are likely to extend their business
trips to leisure trips. (Trends in Global, 2019, p. 6). With this
statistic in mind, it would make sense to market more toward
millennial travelers since they are more likely to extend their
trip to have a good time.
Threats
A little known but major threat to Cirque is day drinking. Since
Las Vegas is known as a party city, people are more inclined to
partake in some early day drinking causing effects on late night

5. entertainment (J.Guilford, personal communication, September
28, 2019). Nobody wants to walk around Vegas all day,
drinking and having a good time, then be stuck in a show during
the night.. People usually want to be up and having a good time.
Another major threat to Cirque du Soleil is other party cities
like Ibiza. Vegas is not becoming the go-to hotspot anymore,
Ibiza is gaining more and more popularity taking away potential
Vegas visitors (J.Guilford, personal communication, September
28, 2019). Coupled with this threat is the fact that millennial
travelers are not as likely to come to Las Vegas because of the
allure of the casinos anymore. US Millennial travelers are
attracted more to dining and learning new things while on
vacation. (Trends in Global, 2019, p. 9). Unless Las Vegas can
change its perception on the world stage to capitalize on this
new revenue stream, then foot traffic will continue to decline to
the Las Vegas based shows.
References
Cirque du Soleil Inc. (n.d.). About Cirque. Retrieved from
https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/press/kits/corporate/about-
cirque
Guilford, J. (2019, September 28). Personal interview.
Trends in Global Millennial Travel: An insight into the key
trends, behaviours and issues of millennial travellers. (March 7,
2019). Retrieved from
https://consumer.globaldata.com/Analysis/details/trends-in-
global-millennial-travel
Tourism Source Market Insights: The US - 2016. (January 28,
2016). Retrieved from
http://consumer.globaldata.com/Analysis/details/usa-source-
market-insights

6. Mel’s input:
https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/casting/life-at-cirque/work-
conditions
This article shows the working conditions of the
performers/employees, one of the strengths/opportunities is that
Cirque du Soleil will provide and pay for work permits and
visas. This is extremely important because it allows people from
all over the world able to legally work in whatever country they
decide. The United States of America is one of the hardest
countries to get a working visa, having Cirque du Soleil provide
this amazing opportunity is definitley a strength.