May 12, 2009 (Free Press Proposes New Direction for US Broadband Policy)
BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for TUESDAY MAY 12, 2009
This morning Broadbandcensus.com hosts a discussion on Spending the Stimulus: How Should 'Unserved' and 'Underserved' Areas Best Be Defined?. Tonight, a bunch of DC lawyers debate The Future of Broadcast Spectrum - Opportunities and Challenges. See http://benton.org/calendar/2009-5-10--P1W for the week's events.
BROADBAND AND THE STIMULUS
Free Press Proposes New Direction for US Broadband Policy
Recapping The Benton Foundation's Best-of-Breed Stimulus Event
Lots of Questions, No Easy Answers on Stimulus Funds at Tech Policy "Town Hall"
California's Lessons Could be Model for Broadband Stimulus
Blumenthal: HHS Plans To Release Guidance on Meaningful Use Soon
Medicare Telemedicine Bill Could Change Landscape
Leibowitz: FTC May Enforce Net Neutrality
US stimulus to save 3.5 million jobs by end 2010
Will the Phone Industry Need a Bailout, Too?
OWNERSHIP
US Clears the Way for Antitrust Crackdown
Google's diversity causing it antitrust trouble
NEWS FROM THE FCC
We Need an FCC Chief and We Need Him Now
Digital TV Transition, Set for June, May Get Early Test
Insomniacs Rejoice! FCC Releases Semiannual Regulatory Agenda
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
Office of Public Engagement: A New Name, Mission for White House Liaison Office
Sharing Congress's Research
Israel Closes Media Center, Upsetting Palestinians
DIGITAL CONTENT
Yahoo Could Be Liable For Lewd and Libelous Profile
Print Books Are Target of Pirates on the Web
ADVERTISING
Radio Tunes Out Google in Rare Miss for Web Titan
iPhone Gets Bigger as Ad Medium
JOURNALISM
Newspapers Do Have Future
The Economy Again Drove News Narrative
TELECOM
Cell phone recycling off to slow start
Universities asked to adapt telecom training
DISH looks to rural telcos, stays away from AT&T
SATELLITES
US "harvesting" canceled satellite for future uses
MORE ON THE WEB
Big media's digital shuffle
Independent film directly to the living-room TV
Cable Blames TV Stations For High Sub Rates
'NewsHour' on PBS to Get Makeover
Software allows disabled to work on computers
Working Moms Turn To Technology
iPods help ESL students achieve success
Cyberbullying, more than just "messing around"
Recent Comments on:
Our Broadband 'Plan' Is Already Toast
Rural America not ready for broadband? Hogwash, say ISPs by Kodjo
BROADBAND AND THE STIMULUS
FREE PRESS PROPOSES NEW DIRECTION FOR US BROADBAND
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
Free Press measured the Federal Communications Commission's broadband policies over the past eight years against the goals of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- a blueprint for promoting competition, openness and access. The FCC ignored this blueprint with deregulatory decisions that consistently favored short-term industry interests over the long-term goal of universal broadband. As a result, consumers have been left with higher prices, slower speeds and a broadband market with few choices. The FCC is required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to produce a national broadband plan by Feb. 17, 2010. To reverse America's digital decline, Free Press offers the following recommendations: 1) Review every major FCC decision since the 1996 Act and reverse those that failed to promote broadband competition, openness and access. Congress should aid this process with a series of oversight hearings. 2) Develop a data-driven standard to identify local areas where broadband providers are abusing their market power, and use the tools in the 1996 Act to promote competition. 3) Expand and codify the FCC's "Internet Policy Statement" into permanent Net Neutrality rules. Congress should pass a Net Neutrality law to place these protections in the Communications Act. 4) Reclassify broadband as a "telecommunications service," which will allow the FCC to promote competition by reinstating open access rules where appropriate. 5) Transition the Universal Service Fund from supporting telephone service to supporting broadband infrastructure. Congress should aid this transition through oversight and legislation to provide a clear path for FCC action. 6) Produce an honest assessment of whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a timely fashion, as required by the 1996 Act. 7) Conduct a thorough review of policies governing competition and pricing in the "special access" and "middle-mile" or "enterprise" markets -- the broadband lines that connect cell phone towers and local area networks to the Internet. 8) Open more of the public airwaves to unlicensed use and promote shared spectrum for both low-power urban and high-power rural uses. Congress should instruct the FCC and the NTIA to identify spectrum that could be utilized.
http://benton.org/node/25242
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RECAPPING BENTON'S BEST-OF-BREED STIMULUS EVENT
[SOURCE: App-Rising.com, AUTHOR: Geoff Daily]
Big thoughts from last week's discussion on how broadband stimulus dollars should be spent beyond the theoretical to shine a spotlight on specific applications that embody the kinds of projects these funds should be supporting. Bill Schrier, CTO for Seattle: Virtually the entire US is unserved -- the vast majority of Americans do not have access to world-class broadband over fiber. Chris Vein, CIO for San Francisco: broadband can't just be about access to the Internet as there also needs to be an emphasis on applications. Tim Nulty of ECFiber, a rural fiber project in Vermont: "We put a copper wire into every home 80 years ago, and fiber's both easier and cheaper to do today than copper was back then." Gary Evans of Hiawatha Broadband: In describing the projects his company may be applying for stimulus support he shared that the network they'll be building will cover 600 sq. miles of rural Minnesota. But more than just getting connectivity out there he cited how Hiawatha will be hiring local support to build, operate, and provide customer service for the network, and how they'll be employing the people who do the work as opposed to incumbents who often outsource that work. Donny Smith of Jaguar Communications, a rural fiber deployer in Minnesota: Jaguar has successfully received, utilized, and are repaying loans from the Rural Utilities Service. , The company has been profitable from day one. Yet unlike most larger companies, where the goal is to maximize profit, instead Jaguar simply seeks to be profitable.
http://benton.org/node/25241
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LOTS OF QUESTIONS, NO EASY ANSWERS ON STIMULUS FUNDS AT TECH POLICY "TOWN HALL"
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Andrew Feinberg]
Familiar faces gathered and familiar arguments rang out Monday at the San Mateo Marriott as the 2009 Tech Policy Summit kicked off with a Broadband Innovation mini-conference, with an opening "town hall" on the "state of the stimulus," with various attendees exchanging ideas on the best way to spend $7.2 billion. Moderator Geoff Daily, editor of App-Rising.com, called broadband stimulus "one of the hottest areas of tech policy today." And there was no shortage of agreement from the heavily west-coast crowd. The stimulus is opportunity for "an amazing attempt to reboot America's broadband policy," Daily said. Fixing America's broadband problems will not be easy and will take time, Daily said. But it will take cooperation across various industries and stakeholders. Implementing the stimulus "needs to be an all hands on deck kind of effort," he said.
http://benton.org/node/25240
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CALIFORNIA'S LESSONS COULD BE MODEL FOR BROADBAND STIMULUS
[SOURCE: BroadbandCensus.com, AUTHOR: Alex Tcherkassky]
States looking for answers to many questions on how to implement the broadband stimulus program should look to California, said a group of experts Monday during a panel at the Tech Policy Summit on the "state of the state." M2Z Networks CTO Milo Medin said California's state-based mapping data shows approximately 96% of Californians have access to 1.5 Mbps broadband. But San Francisco Digital Inclusion Project Director Emy Tseng said that the number only measures availability of broadband — not adoption. Tseng acknowledged the importance of mapping broadband availability and cost in determining adoption rates. But it isn't enough to say "broadband's there, let's move on," she said. "We need to actively entice citizens to connect." Adoption could be pushed forward with education applications, Medin said. He compared a lack of home broadband access to a textbook that can't be brought home from school. But it's not enough for government to promote connectivity, he said, suggesting that those who are connected need to push those who aren't to get on board.
http://benton.org/node/25239
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BLUMENTHAL: HHS PLANS TO RELEASE GUIDANCE ON MEANINGFUL USE SOON
[SOURCE: iHealthBeat, AUTHOR: ]
National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal said on Friday that the Department of Health and Human Services soon will issue guidance and specifications on the definition of "meaningful use" of health IT. The recently enacted economic stimulus law included $17 billion for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments to health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of health IT, such as electronic health records. "Those two words [meaningful use] are the key to success in health information technology policy over the next several years," Blumenthal said.
http://benton.org/node/25238
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MEDICARE TELEMEDICINE BILL COULD CHANGE LANDSCAPE
[SOURCE: iHealthBeat, AUTHOR: George Lauer]
A generally accepted maxim in health care: Where Medicare goes, the rest of the country follows. If a bipartisan effort in Congress is successful, Medicare and the rest of the country are headed for wider, deeper use of telemedicine. Only about 20% of the country's Medicare beneficiaries have access to telemedicine because of restrictions limiting funding to rural areas, according to legislators. The Medicare Telehealth Enhancement Act introduced last week would expand Medicare reimbursement to the other 80% of the country and encourage in other ways the remote monitoring of patients using telecommunications technology. Co-authored by two Democrats and two Republicans, HR 2068, coupled with funding for telemedicine expansion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, could usher in a new era for telemedicine in the US.
http://benton.org/node/25237
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LEIBOWITZ: FTC MAY ENFORCE NET NEUTRALITY
[SOURCE: PCWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
The Federal Trade Commission may start enforcing net-neutrality rules and take action against bad network management practices when broadband providers don't live up to the promises they make to consumers, the agency's chairman said. Broadband providers need to inform consumers about the download speeds they're delivering and the types of network management practices they're deploying, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. If a broadband provider blocks Web content that competes with its own content or a partner's content, that could also raise "antitrust problems," potentially prompting FTC action, said Leibowitz, appointed chairman in March after for more than four years on the commission. "We believe consumers need to have notice and consent about what they're getting," Chairman Leibowitz said. "It's very, very important that these providers tell consumers about the speed they're getting, and whether [providers] are making any types of management decisions in terms of the network that affect consumers."
http://benton.org/node/25236
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US STIMULUS TO SAVE 3.5 MILLION JOBS BY END 2010
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: David Lawder]
According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law in February, will meet previous estimates to save 3.5 million U.S. jobs by the end of 2010, but the unemployment rate at that time may be higher due to further deterioration in the economy. The Administration is closely the results of the $787 billion spending and tax-cut package to determine whether additional actions are needed as "mid-term" economic forecasts are prepared by the White House.
http://benton.org/node/25235
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WILL THE PHONE COMPANIES NEED A BAILOUT, TOO?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
Congress has asked the Federal Communication Commission to develop a national policy for broadband deployment. But it might be more important to think through how the country will handle the aging and increasingly less relevant copper phone network. You can see the problem building every quarter, when the phone companies report they serve ever fewer landlines. They are mainly losing customers to cable companies, which offer competing broadband and voice services that make copper phone lines unnecessary. More people are also deciding to abandon landlines for cellphones. As carriers lose wireline revenue, the costs of maintaining the wires strung on poles and dug through trenches is not falling nearly as quickly. It now costs an average of $52 a year to maintain a copper phone line, up from $43 in 2003, largely because of the declining number of lines, according to Larry Vanston, president of research firm Technology Futures. If competition ever creates a significant shift to Internet-based phone service, it could quickly decimate the already precarious economics of the local phone business. What good will it do for the FCC to come up with a spiffy new plan to get faster cheaper broadband to more people if the phone companies fail and millions of people won't be able to dial 911 in an emergency?
http://benton.org/node/25234
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OWNERSHIP
US CLEARS THE WAY FOR ANTITRUST CRACKDOWN
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cecilia Kang]
The Obama administration signaled yesterday that it would take an aggressive stand against companies that engage in anti-competitive behavior, reversing looser policies of the past eight years that critics called friendly toward big firms. Christine Varney, head of the antitrust division at the Justice Department, announced that the agency would revoke a 2008 report that made it difficult to pursue antitrust cases against corporations. She said the guidelines and lax enforcement over the past decade helped contribute to the economic crisis. "The recent developments in the marketplace should make it clear that we can no longer rely upon the marketplace alone to ensure that competition and consumers will be protected," Varney said in a speech at the Center for American Progress. But doing so may prove difficult, observers said. The president's desire to clamp down on big corporate mergers and to guard against anti-competitive behaviors will be challenged by an economic recession that some analysts predict could lead to more pressure for corporations to consolidate, further cutting competition. During the Bush administration, nearly every high-tech and telecommunications merger before the antitrust division at the Justice Department was approved.
http://benton.org/node/25253
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GOOGLE'S DIVERSITY CAUSING IT ANTITRUST TROUBLE
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: John Timmer]
Google's stated goal is to have an index of all the world's information. It started with the Web, where the information it obtained allowed it to build a hugely successful search service. From there, the company branched out, both by internal development and acquisition; books got scanned, e-mail and documents hosted, and a variety of products, such as the Android operating system, appear to have been developed simply as a way of encouraging users to rely on other Google services. Now, even as the company is killing some of these non-core products due to the tough economic times, its diversity is causing it more trouble than it may be worth, as antitrust worries appear to be accompanying the company's every move. In a lot of ways, Google is a victim both of its own success in search and its strategic approach to new markets. The company seemed to have services (rumored, in beta, and otherwise) in just about every online market imaginable, including some odd fits, like virtual worlds. The idea, presumably, was that it wanted to be ready to move in case any of these areas took off. Instead, the company is now finding itself facing resistance to just about everything it does.
http://benton.org/node/25233
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NEWS FROM THE FCC
WE NEED AN FCC CHIEF AND WE NEED HIM NOW
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] Last week Congress delayed the confirmation hearings for Julius Genachowski, who was nominated as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, until after the Memorial Day congressional recess. Apparently there's some political wrangling happening here because traditionally the Republican nominees are also in place for the confirmation hearings so the new FCC can get down to business right away. However, there are no Republican nominees yet, hence the delay. What, there isn't anyone as qualified as previous commissioner Deborah "I-issue-press-releases-about-the -sodium-content-in-canned-soups" Tate? If we all accept that broadband will be the platform for future innovation, then Washington is currently wasting time issuing decrees about the appropriate name for swine flu when it should be pushing for Republican nominees and getting a new FCC in place to start tackling some of these issues before we move further behind as a country.
http://benton.org/node/25254
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DIGITAL TV TRANSITION, SET FOR JUNE, MAY GET EARLY TEST
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Mike Musgrove]
Government agencies and broadcasters are working on plans for an early test of the digital TV transition, saying the number of people still unprepared to make the switch has been cut, but that millions of Americans remain at risk of losing television reception next month. One approach under consideration, as the June 12 digital TV transition day approaches, is a nationwide flip of the switch, slated for May 21. Owners of older television sets that have not been equipped with a converter box will be able to tell for certain whether they're prepared for the age of digital programming. Details of the test, in which broadcasters would switch from analog to digital broadcasts for a few minutes, are still in the works.
http://benton.org/node/25252
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FCC RELEASES SEMIANNUAL REGULATORY AGENDA
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
The Federal Communications Commission published its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda which is wonk for theoretical work plan. The agenda is a list of major items and other significant proceedings under development or review. The items are categorized by the bureau that is responsible for the work. Timetables provided look backward, not forward. But, hey, if you're in the mood, poor yourself a double espresso, grab hold of your Murphy's Guide to Telecom Jargon, and have at it.
http://benton.org/node/25226
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GOVERNMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: A NEW NAME, MISSION FOR WHITE HOUSE LIAISON OFFICE
[SOURCE: The White House]
President Obama today announced a new name and a new mission for the White House office charged with dealing most closely with the American people. The Office of Public Liaison is now the Office of Public Engagement. OPE, along with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, will serve as the front door to the White House through which ordinary Americans can participate and inform the work of the President. The current leadership will remain to carry out the new mission and includes Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to the President, Christina M. Tchen, Director of OPE; and Michael Strautmanis Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement. Additional staff and issue areas can be viewed at the OPE website at www.whitehouse.gov/ope. President Obama said, "This office will seek to engage as many Americans as possible in the difficult work of changing this country, through meetings and conversations with groups and individuals held in Washington and across the country." OPE will help build relationships with Americans by increasing their meaningful engagement with the federal government. Serving as the front door to the White House, OPE will allow ordinary Americans to offer their stories and ideas regarding issues that concern them and share their views on important topics such as health care, energy and education. In addition to its traditional White House operations, OPE will now also focus on getting information from the American people outside the Washington beltway through special public events as well as activities on the web site. The office will have a strong on-line presence, including blog postings from OPE staff and other interactive elements.
http://benton.org/node/25225
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SHARING CONGRESS'S RESEARCH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] The Congressional Research Service investigates important issues and produces detailed, well-written reports that are available to members of Congress but not the general public. A resolution has been introduced in the Senate to make these reports freely available online. It would be an important step forward for government openness, and it would narrow the information gap between Washington insiders and ordinary Americans.
http://benton.org/node/25249
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ISRAEL CLOSES MEDIA CENTER, UPSETTING PALESTINIANS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Isabel Kershner]
The Israeli police on Monday closed down an official Palestinian media center that had been set up in East Jerusalem for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, as Israel and the Palestinians competed to exercise authority in the contested part of the city. As the pope arrived in Jerusalem, each side accused the other of exploiting his visit for political gain. Though the pope's movements have been carefully choreographed to avoid obvious political minefields, every step and word was bound to be closely scrutinized.
http://benton.org/node/25250
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DIGITAL CONTENT
YAHOO COULD BE LIABLE FOR LEWD AND LIBELOUS PROFILE
[SOURCE: MediaPost, AUTHOR: Wendy Davis]
When Oregon resident Cecilia Barnes broke up with her boyfriend, he responded by posting a fake profile of her on Yahoo -- and a particularly nasty one at that. He included nude photos of Barnes as well as her name, address and phone number. Barnes complained to Yahoo and a company executive promised to take down the profile. Yahoo allegedly reneged on that promise, spurring Barnes to file suit against the company. Now, in a ruling that could have significant ramifications for Web publishers, a federal appellate court has held that Yahoo could face liability for breach of contract for failing to delete the post. Still, the decision potentially leaves Web publishers more vulnerable to new lawsuits stemming from the posts of users. That's because the ruling appears to carve out a new exception to the federal Communications Decency Act -- a law that many attorneys had long thought immunized Web sites from liability for libelous or offensive user comments. In fact, U.S. District Court, Judge Ann Aiken in Oregon originally dismissed Barnes' lawsuit for that reason. But Barnes appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled last week that the Communications Decency Act created only a "baseline" rule that Web companies need not censor posts. Once a Yahoo employee promised Barnes that the post would be deleted, Yahoo was obligated to do so, according to the court.
http://benton.org/node/25222
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PRINT BOOKS ARE TARGET OF PIRATES ON THE WEB
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Motoko Rich]
Digital piracy is all too familiar to filmmakers and musicians, but to authors and their publishers in the age of Kindle, it's new and frightening territory. For a while now, determined readers have been able to sniff out errant digital copies of titles as varied as the "Harry Potter" series and best sellers by Stephen King and John Grisham. But some publishers say the problem has ballooned in recent months as an expanding appetite for e-books has spawned a bumper crop of pirated editions on Web sites like Scribd and Wattpad, and on file-sharing services like RapidShare and MediaFire.
http://benton.org/node/25251
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ADVERTISING
RADIO TUNES OUT GOOGLE IN RARE MISS FOR TITAN
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Jessica Vascellaro]
Google's foray into selling radio ads was supposed to show how its online-advertising brainpower could revolutionize an old-fashioned people business. Instead, radio tripped up Google. The company is pulling the plug on its attempt to automate radio-ad sales on May 31, exposing how far Google is from its goal of grabbing a big chunk of the multibillion-dollar business of off-line ad sales. A look at what went wrong shows that Google misjudged the capacity of its technology to work beyond the Web, and underestimated the human side of the business. Radio stations refused to turn over airtime to a computer algorithm that set prices far lower than their own rates. Big advertisers steered clear.
http://benton.org/node/25247
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IPHONE GETS BIGGER AS AD MEDIUM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Yukari Iwatani Kane]
Madison Avenue is plowing more resources into a new marketing medium: Apple Inc.'s iPhone. In the past several months, companies such as Burger King Holdings Inc., Zippo Manufacturing Co. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. have experimented with promotional software applications that can be downloaded onto the iPhone, or they have created ads that are placed within other popular applications for the device. At the most basic, marketers are taking advantage of the iPhone's advanced video and screen capabilities by creating streaming video ads. But some are taking things further by offering ads disguised as apps. The latter allow users to do such things as play games or manipulate images by touching the phone's screen.
http://benton.org/node/25246
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JOURNALISM
NEWSPAPERS DO HAVE A FUTURE
[SOURCE: Editor&Publisher, AUTHOR: Jennifer Saba]
A new study suggests that newspapers do have a long-term future. Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC), along with the World Association of Newspapers, released a new report on the global outlook of the newspaper industry. The research found that access to capital and a willingness to try many experiments is key to survival. PWC found people have a willingness to pay for 62% for general online news content compared to 100% for general print news content. However PWC warns that does not mean that consumers would actually buy online content: When given the choice, consumers would choose free content when the quality was comparable or sufficient for their purpose. New devices didn't make the cut for pay either. "On average, respondents expressed no willingness to pay for general news and background information on e-paper or mobile devices, and they do not see them as alternatives for full newspapers," according to research findings. People are more likely to shell out for financial content -- a maximum of 97% as much on average for high quality online newspapers with a focus on finance compared to general news on traditional paper. Likewise, consumers would be prepared to pay as much as 77% of what they would pay for a high quality traditional paper with general news for an online newspaper with a focus on sports, the study said.
http://benton.org/node/25232
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THE ECONOMY AGAIN DRIVES NEWS NARRATIVE
[SOURCE: Project for Excellence in Journalism, AUTHOR: Mark Jurkowitz]
The news narrative shifted significantly last week as the stress tests for troubled banks overshadowed a flu outbreak that suddenly seemed less stressful. The release of the financial health reports of 19 major banks helped make the economic crisis the top story from May 4-10, according to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The economy's health filled 21% of the newshole studied in PEJ's weekly News Coverage Index during the week. That's double the coverage of the previous week and the most attention the financial meltdown has received in the 55 media outlets included in the NCI in six weeks. Two related subjects, the President's plan to crack down on overseas tax havens and the troubled auto industry, filled about another 8% of the newshole.
http://benton.org/node/25244
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TELECOM
CELL PHONE RECYCLING OFF TO SLOW START
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Sarah Reedy]
When a mobile phone reaches its end of life or, more likely, a consumer opts to upgrade, the three most common places for it to end up are a landfill, an incinerator or the consumer's desk drawer. In the United States alone, Americans discard upwards of 130 million cell phones annually, less than 5% of which are recycled. That adds up to nearly 65,000 tons of waste every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is this massive amount of waste that is attracting the most attention from handset makers and carriers in their efforts to go green, but these efforts are still failing to inspire consumers in any significant numbers. Recycling initiatives are popping up all over the world, including everything from a campaign to use recycling to save koalas in Australia to a telco-sponsored campaign in India and several charity-driven initiatives in the US.
http://benton.org/node/25229
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UNIVERSITIES ASKED TO ADAPT TELECOM TRAINING
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Carol Wilson]
The telecom industry is aware of its changing job needs, and there is an effort underway to update university curriculums to better address the IT and Ethernet skills required going forward, according to Susan Miller, president and chief executive officer of ATIS, the organization that develops US telecom standards and business solutions around those standards.
http://benton.org/node/25228
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DISH LOOKS TO RURAL TELCOS, STAYS AWAY FROM AT&T
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Sarah Reedy]
Following the cancellation of its relationship with AT&T, Dish Networks is looking to its rural telco partners to drive its recovery, while staying away from its former partner at all costs. The satellite company, which saw its profits rise 21% year-over-year despite continued customer loss in the first quarter of 2009, will focus on the rural markets. "Our weakest markets are where there is a good operator with great service and great prices and has a triple play, quadruple play or even a double play," Charlie Ergen, Dish's chief executive officer, said. "That's a tough market for us...An investment in the U-Verse market in the Northeast, where there is great service and the triple play for $99, it may not be the best place for us to compete. Having said that, there are still markets where we are very competitive, and we think we have the best product. We have to focus on where we have the best product," he continued. "If I lived in New Jersey and lived in a million-dollar house that was a mile away from U-Verse and U-Verse had a front line right up to my house, I might buy U-Verse. I might not, but that's something to look at. If I lived in rural Idaho, I probably wouldn't buy U-Verse."
http://benton.org/node/25227
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SATELLITES
US "HARVESTING" CANCELED SATELLITE FOR FUTURE USES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andrea Shalal-Esa]
The Air Force on Monday said it was working with Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co to "harvest" for future use any government-owned property or ground stations developed for a canceled satellite communications program. Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space programs, told reporters the Air Force had already spent $2.5 billion during two to three years of initial developmental work on the Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program, and hoped to use some of the technologies developed for TSAT in future programs. He said the program's original mission -- to provide follow-on protected satellite communications for selected US government communications, including the president's ability to order a nuclear attack -- remained "absolutely critical." Lockheed and Boeing, which have been competing for the TSAT contract, had both been awarded risk reduction contracts to ensure that the technologies involved were mature once the government was ready to award a contract to one winner. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month announced the program would be canceled. The program had already been scaled back from its initial ambitious goals. Now the Air Force plans to buy more Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites, built by Lockheed, and more Wideband Global SATCOMM (WGS) satellites, built by Boeing. The Air Force is working hard "to collect what is rightfully the government's so that we can do competent planning for potential future evolutions of other systems," Payton said.
http://benton.org/node/25230
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