March 2006

Adelstein Calls for DTV Task Force

ADELSTEIN CALLS FOR DTV TASK FORCE
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein wants the FCC to create a national DTV task force, working in concert with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, to educate consumers about the DTV transition. He said it was vital for the industry to do a better job of letting consumers know that their analog TV's won't be working in three years--at least not without a converter box. He said that his CEA summit audience was part of a small group of people who understood the nuances of the transition, but that there was an urgent need to transfer this inside-the-Beltway discussion into a coordinated consumer education campaign. "If we don't get this right," he said, "we face a tsunami of public outrage." Commissioner Adelstein said that since the FCC launched its DTV portal in October 2004, they have had 2.5 million hits, or about 100,000 hits per month. "Essentially people need to know how to get 'my DTV' and what's in it for me," he said. He also said that more money needed to be earmarked for an education campaign, saying that although NTIA got $5 million, he wasn't clear on whether that was for general awareness of specifically for promoting the converter box subsidy.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6316109?display=Breaking+News
* Avoid DTV Hysteria, Urges FCC's Adelstein
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10021...
* See full remarks:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-264354A1.doc

To Blunt the Web's Impact, TV Tries Building Online Fences

TO BLUNT THE WEB'S IMPACT, TV TRIES BUILDING ONLINE FENCES
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz@wsj.com and Brooks Barnes brooks.barnes@wsj.com]

New Mandate for the BBC: Put Entertainment First

NEW MANDATE FOR THE BBC: PUT ENTERTAINMENT FIRST
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sarah Lyall]

CDT Endorses Bill to Protect Political Speech Online

CDT ENDORSES BILL TO PROTECT POLITICAL SPEECH ONLINE
[CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY & TECHNOLOGY]

Why we should think twice about ‘net neutrality’

WHY WE SHOULD THINK TWICE ABOUT 'NET NEUTRALITY'
[SOURCE: Financial Times, AUTHOR: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Council on Foreign Relations]

Metro Wi-Fi Network Coverage to Top 126,000 Square Miles by 2010

METRO WI-FI NETWORK COVERAGE TO TOP 126,000 SQUARE MILES BY 2010
[SOURCE: ABI Research press release]

Hop on My Bandwidth

HOP ON MY BANDWIDTH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Timothy Lee, Show-Me Institute]

NCTA, Others Launch Broadband Everywhere

NCTA, OTHERS LAUNCH BROADBAND EVERYWHERE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, in concert with some small cable operators, the Hispanic Federation and the National Congress of Black Women, have formed a new group, Broadband Everywhere, and Web site, www.broadbandeverywhere.org, to lobby on telecommunications regulation reform. The group will push for a level playing field for telcos and cable related to any video franchise reform, as well as for a continuing role for local government in franchises.

Analysts Question Bell Investments

[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]